|
TKO Contest Winner Proves – One Little Girl really can make a difference
Unlike adults, children don’t hide their emotions. They experience everything – you can see it in their eyes, hear it in the voice and watch their excitement as an event changes their life forever. Through Tyler’s Kids Outreach’s Community Outreach Essay Contest, we sought to inspire the fifth and sixth graders at Community Leadership Academy (CLA) to give back to their neighborhood. What we all learned the weekend of December 19th was that a 10-year old little girl, Viridiana Medrano, was a huge inspiration to everyone that met her!
Just three short years ago, Viri barely spoke English and even struggled in school because of her language skills. When we met this amazing young lady, we were amazed at her poise, politeness and humility. To win the contest, Viri employed the help of friends and family to collect 19 bags of canned food from her neighborhood. She then donated the food to her church so they could bring it to the homeless shelter. It was the single largest food donation the church had ever received. She then wrote an essay sharing the details of her community outreach and how it positively affected her.
As her reward, TKO flew her and her mother, Maria, from Denver to Seattle, for once in a lifetime weekend. Flying out Friday night, Viri and her mom, were met by Liz & Tyler Polumbus, at the airport. After a good night’s rest, Liz played hostess as she treated the girls to breakfast at Lowell’s family eatery at Pike’s Place in Downtown Seattle. It offered breathtaking views of the water and great home cooked meals. But that was just the beginning of this amazing weekend…
As a special treat, Viri, Maria, Liz and Program Director, Dawn Ridz, were invited to be special guests of the Seattle Seahawks for their Saturday practice at their indoor facility. After practice, Tyler introduced the ladies to several of his teammates and even a couple of the Seahawks’ coaches. After practice, Viri, Maria, Liza and Dawn went to the Seattle Seahawks’ Pro Shop where Viri was fitted with Seahawks gear for the next day’s big game! After all, she had to be showing the Seahawks colors as the 12th Man and stay warm as the weather called for 40 degree temperatures. Saturday night allowed Viri and Maria time to explore scenic downtown Seattle so they could sightsee, Christmas shop and fully experience all this beautiful city has to offer.
Bright and early Sunday morning, it was time to get ready for Game Day! An early breakfast on Pike’s Place and then off to the stadium so Viri could soak up “Touchdown City” which offered games, obstacle courses, face painting, hair coloring, and radio shows – the full fan experience. Viri decided to decorate her hair in Seahawks’ blue and green as well as show her Seahawks pride with face painting of their colors. She had her Game Face on!
As a special surprise, Viri was given pre-game sideline passes which allowed her to watch warm-ups, high-five the Seahawks’ defense backs and stand literally on the sideline of the field. Her excitement was contagious as those standing near her on the field high-fived her and celebrated the fun of the moment! Back her in her seats for the game, Viri watched intently rooting on Tyler and his teammates while enjoying the stadium fare of hot cocoa and hot dogs! The busy day ended with Viri saying goodbye to all her new Seattle friends as she was heading home on Monday morning.
Watching this amazing young lady’s face, it was easy to feel inspired. What the weekend proved to us all was that the acts of one person really can make a difference! It left us saying, “The TKO program is still so young, but we have big dreams…and this is just the beginning! This is just the beginning!”
| Community Leadership Academy - Community Outreach Essay Contest Winner |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
